Human Body: Immune System and Germs

This week, we have been learning about the immune system and germs.

If you missed the other parts of our Human Body Study, you can see them here: Human Body – Doctor’s Bag, Human Body ~ Body Parts, Human Body: Bones, Joints and Muscles, Senses, Cells, Heart, Blood and Circulation, Digestive System and Nutrition, the Brain and Nervous System, the Skin, Hair and Nails, the Immune System and Germs, the Respiratory System, the Excretory System, Reproduction System and Dental.

 This activity was really quite fun and really made the boys more aware of the germs around them.

The boys rubbed a little bit of hand cream on their hands and then I added some glitter, which we used to represent germs. We probably went a little overboard with the glitter, but I had to make sure they could see the germs.

Then I asked them to pick up a cup and then put it back down.

They left many germs on the cup. They were quite surprised at how just by touching something, they could leave germs on it.

Next they picked up a biscuit. 

 

And then they played catch with a ball. 

We talked about how the immune system works to get rid of these germs and how by doing little things like washing our hands with soap, we can decrease the amounts of germs we can spread.

I also made again made a mini Immune System and Germs Pack.

 You can download your Immune System and Germs pack by clicking the link below:

 While we were talking about germs, the boys started by asking about bacteria and where it lives.  I had a couple of small petri dishes, so we decided to grow some.

To do this you need to make an agar which is a jelly like substance that is used to culture bacteria. To do this:

Boil 1/2 cup water and add 2 tsp of sugar and 2 tsp gelatine. Stir well until dissolved. Pour the mixture into the containers and cover immediately to stop them from being contaminated. Chill for 24 hours.

Then decide what samples you want to take, like your hands, the bathroom sink, the toilet, a door handle or a bin. Collect your samples with a cotton bud and wipe it over the agar mixture. Tape the lid on and label each container. Remember to leave one with no sample as a ‘control’.

Place in a warm area and wait to see what happens.

Write up your predictions in the meantime.

You can check out more activities on my Human Body Pinterest Board:

Follow Stacey Jones (A Moment In Our World)’s board Science – Human Body on Pinterest.

 Linking to:

True Aim Education